75th Infantry Division (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=75th Infantry Division


caption=75th Infantry Division Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
dates=1943-04-15 - 1945-11-14
1952-03-01 - 1957-02-15
1993-10-01 - Present
country= United States
allegiance=
branch=Army Reserve
type=
role= Training
size=Division
command_structure=
garrison=Houston, Texas
garrison_label=Headquarters
equipment=
equipment_label=
nickname=
patron=
motto="Make Ready"
colors=
colors_label=
march=
mascot=
battles=Rhineland;
Ardennes-Alsace;
Central Europe
anniversaries=
decorations=Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for EUROPEAN THEATER;
battle_honours=Distinguished Service Cross-4 ;
Silver Star-193;
Legion of Merit-7;
Soldier's Medal-30;
Bronze Star Medal-1,321;
Air Medal-30.
current_commander=MG Eldon P. Regua
current_commander_label=
ceremonial_chief=
ceremonial_chief_label=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
colonel_of_the_regiment_label=
notable_commanders=MG Ray E. Porter
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=Distinctive Unit Insignia
identification_symbol_2=
identification_symbol_2_label=US Infantry
previous=74th Infantry Division
next=76th Infantry DivisionThe 75th Infantry Division was a division of the United States Army in World War II. It was also active from 1952-1957 as a combat division of the United States Army Organized Reserves. In 1993, the division was reactivated as the 75th Division (Training Support) in the Army Reserve and remains active. In January 2003, numerous units of the 75th Division (Training Support) were mobilized to train other Army Reserve and National Guard units deploying overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF). Several of the division's units remain mobilized even to the present day.

World War II

Lineage

*Constituted 1942-12-24 in the Army of the United States as Headquarters, 75th Infantry Division.
*Activated 1943-04-15 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
*Moved to Louisiana Maneuver Area on 1944-01-24, where it participated in the 4th Army #6 Louisiana maneuvers.
*Transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky on 1944-04-07.
*Staged at Camp Shanks, New York on 1944-11-07
*Deployed from New York Port of Embarkation on 1944-11-14.
*Arrived in England on 1944-11-22.
*Assigned 1944-12-09 to the Ninth Army, which was part of the 12th Army Group.
*Further assigned 1944-12-11 to the XVI Corps.
*Landed in France on 1944-12-13.
*Crossed over into Holland on 1944-12-18.
*Further assigned 1944-12-22 to the VII Corps, First Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group.
*Further assigned 1944-12-29 to the XVIII (Abn) Corps.
*Further assigned 1945-01-02 to the VII Corps.
*Further assigned 1945-01-07 to the XVIII (Abn) Corps.
*Further assigned 1945-01-25 to the 6th Army Group.
*Further assigned 1945-01-30 to the XXI Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group, but attached for operations to the First French Army, 6th Army Group.
*Further assigned 1945-02-11 to the Seventh Army, 6th Army Group.
*Further assigned 1945-02-14 to the 12th Army Group.
* Further assigned 1945-02-17 to the Ninth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the British Second Army for operations and the British VIII Corps for administration. Entered Belgium.
*Withdrew to Holland on 1945-02-18.
*Finally assigned 1945-03-01 to the XVI Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
*Entered Germany on 1945-03-10.
*Was located at Werdohl, Germany on 1945-08-14
*Returned to Continental US at Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation on 1945-11-14, and proceeded to Camp Patrick Henry Virginia.
*Inactivated 1945-11-14 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia
*Allotted 1952-02-21 to the Organized Reserve Corps
*Activated 1952-03-01 at Houston, Texas
*(Organized Reserve Corps redesignated 1952-07-09 as the Army Reserve)
*Inactivated 1957-02-15 at Houston, Texas
*Redesignated 1993-10-01 as Headquarters, 75th Division (Exercise), and activated at Houston, Texas
*Reorganized and redesignated 1999-10-17 as Headquarters, 75th Division (Training Support)

World War Two Units

Assignments

*Headquarters Company, 75th Infantry Division
**289th Infantry Regiment
**290th Infantry Regiment
**291st Infantry Regiment
**75th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
*HHB, Division Artillery
**730th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm)
**897th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm)
**898th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm)
**899th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm)
*Headquarters Special Troops
**275th Engineer Battalion (Combat)
**375th Medical Battalion
**75th Quartermaster Company
**575th Signal Company
**775th Ordnance Company(Light Maintenance)
**75th CIC Detachment
**75th Military Police Platoon

Combat Chronicle [Nota Bene: These combat chronicles, current as of October 1948, are reproduced from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950, pp. 510-592.]

*The 75th Infantry Division arrived in England, 1944-11-22; headquarters having arrived on 1944-11-02.

*After a brief training program, the Division landed at Le Havre and Rouen, 13 December, and bivouacked at Yvetot on the 14th.

*When the Von Rundstedt offensive broke in the Ardennes, the 75th was rushed to the front and entered defensive combat, 1944-12-23, alongside the Ourthe River, advanced to the Aisne River and entered Grandmenil, 1945-01-05.

*The Division relieved the 82d A/B Division along the Salm River, 8 January, and strengthened its defensive positions until 17 January when it attacked, taking Vielsalm and other towns in the area.

*Shifting to the Seventh Army area in Alsace—Lorraine, the 75th crossed the Colmar Canal, 1 February, and took part in the liberation of Colmar and in the determined fighting between the Rhine River and the Vosges Mountains. It crossed the Rhine Canal and reached the Rhine, 7 February.

*After a brief rest at Luneville, it returned to combat, relieving the 6th British Airborne Division on a 24-mile defensive front along the Maas River, near Roermond, Holland, 21 February. From 13 to 23 March, the 75th patrolled a sector along the west bank of the Rhine from Wesel to Homburg and probed enemy defenses at night.

*On 24 March, elements crossed the Rhine in the wake of the 30th and 79th Divisions. Pursuance of the enemy continued as the 75th cleared the Haard Forest, 1 April, crossed the Dortmund-Ems Canal on the 4th, and cleared the approaches to Dortmund, which fell to the 95th Division, 13 April. After taking Herdecke, 13 April, the Division moved to Brambauer for rest and rehabilitation, then took over security and military government duties in Westphalia.

Casualties

*Days in Combat: 94.
*Killed In Action: 817.
*Wounded In Action: 3,314.
*Died of Wounds: 111.

Honors

CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDIT

*World War II:
#Rhineland;
#Ardennes-Alsace;
#Central Europe

DECORATIONS

UNIT AWARDS

*Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for EUROPEAN THEATER

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:

*Distinguished Service Cross-4 ;
*Silver Star-193;
*Legion of Merit-7;
*Soldier's Medal-30 ;
*Bronze Star Medal-1,321 ;
*Air Medal-30.

Commanders:

#MG Willard S. Paul (April — August 1943),
#MG Fay B. Prickett (August 1943 — January 1945),
#MG Ray E. Porter (January — June 1945),
#MG Arthur A. White (June — October 1945),
#BG Charles R. Doran (October 1945 to inactivation).

Current units

The 75th Battle Command Training Division (BCTD) is currently separated into an HHC and five(5) brigades (BCTBs), each of which are separated into Battle Command Training Groups (BCTGs). The 75th BCTD is a force and training multiplier. The 75th BCTD and its subordinate BCTBs are the only entities that have the mission and capability to train RC Forces in the full spectrum of the BCST continuum. The BCTD executes BCST in all phases of the ARFORGEN culminating in the preparation of battalions, brigades and higher-level headquarters (HQs) for deployment in the Available phase of the ARFORGEN rotational strategy. The BCTD structure provides a unique capability to the USAR and the Army.

75th BCTD Vision Statement: To be the premier provider of realistic and relevant battle-focused command and staff training in a digital (ABCS) contemporary operating environment, making the total force ready for any world-wide mission.

BCTD Headquarters - Houston, TX BCTD HHC - Houston, TX
*1st Brigade - Houston, TX
**HHC - Houston, TX
**1st BCTG - Houston, TX
**2nd BCTG - Houston, TX
**3rd BCTG - Fort Sill, OK
**Battle Command Training Center (BCTC) - Houston, TX

*2nd Brigade - located at Fort Dix, New Jersey
**HHC - Fort Dix, NJ
**1st BCTG - Edison, NJ
**2nd BCTG - Bristol, RI
**3rd BCTG - Fort Dix, NJ
**BCTC - Fort Dix, NJ

*3rd Brigade - located at Fort Sheridan, Illinois
**HHC - Fort Sheridan, IL
**1st BCTG - Arlington Heights, IL
**2nd BCTG - Fort Sheridan, IL
**3rd BCTG - Fort Sheridan, IL
**BCTC - Arlington Heights, IL

*4th Brigade - located in Hoover, Alabama
**HHC - Birmingham, AL
**1st BCTG - Birmingham, AL
**2nd BCTG - Birmingham, AL
**3rd BCTG - Birmingham, AL
**BCTC - Birmingham, AL

*5th Brigade - located at Camp Parks, California
**HHC - Camp Parks, CA
**1st BCTG - Garden Grove, CA
**2nd BCTG - Denver, CO
**3rd BCTG - Camp Parks, CA
**BCTC - Camp Parks, CA

General

*Shoulder patch: Khaki-bordered square with diagonal fields of blue, white, and red on which is superimposed a blue 7 and red 5.

References

External links

* [http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/75thinfantry/index.html The 75th: The Story of the 75th Infantry Division]
* [http://www.75thdivisiondad.us/ "Unofficial" Home of the 75th Infantry Division Veterans' Association]